What worried the police more was lack of clues than the usage of firearm in the bank ATM robbery reported recently at S.R. Nagar in city.
They heaved a sigh of relief after nabbing the ‘robber’, who turned out to be ‘first time offender’, within a day of commission of the crime. In private conversations, they concede that the credit of cracking the crime should actually go to the video footage of surveillance cameras inside the ATM centre and on the roads outside.
But for the visuals recorded by the secret cameras, the case would have been never detected, they admit. “We would have been criticised for failing to catch a person who took away money from a woman at gunpoint inside ATM centre. That too during daytime,” some investigators said.
Since the robber masked his face with a cloth, the woman couldn’t describe how the attacker looked like. Normally, investigators look out for persons who had committed similar offences earlier, to narrow down on suspects. But it being the first ever offence by the accused, the police would have groped in the dark about his identity. The first clue was the video footage of the camera inside the ATM centre. Though the robber covering his mask could not be recognised, sleuths could note the colour of his clothes.
Comparing this video with those recorded by other secret cameras outside gave the investigators some more crucial leads such as the offender not using any vehicle to flee. He was seen simply walking away which suggested that he lived in the vicinity.
Since he looked like a youngster, police suspected he could be residing in one of the numerous hostels in the locality. “This reconfirms that installation of more surveillance cameras with better picture quality is surely helpful. It indirectly acts as deterrent for offenders as well,” is what police officials feel.
Marri Ramu
